Malaysia Airlines (MAS), which is now in recovery mode following the government renationalisation two years ago, has announced an aggressive expansion of its fleet and route network. More is promised as the carrier emerges from years of stagnation.
The carrier will be adding to both its domestic and international schedule from the start of the summer operating season at the end of March. Domestic services will be dramatically increased, while the international expansion will focus primarily on regional routes where growth rates are strong. New services will, meanwhile, be introduced to Guangzhou in China, and to Balikpapan and Manado in Indonesia.
Some long-haul services will also be increased. Additional frequencies will be added on routes to Melbourne and Perth in Australia, as well as to Auckland and Paris. Amsterdam capacity will be upgraded with Boeing 747s instead of 777s. Domestic frequencies will be increased on several trunk routes from Kuala Lumpur. MAS says it is in addition planning to further increase regional operations this year, to China, Japan, India and the Middle East.
"The airline will place particular focus on Malaysia and the region, as a strategy of expansion in this area should result in a positive impact in increasing its average yield per passenger kilometre, attracting greater tourism opportunities in the domestic market and beyond," the airline says.
The carrier's holding company, Penerbangan Malaysia (PMB), recently agreed to lease three Airbus A330-200s from International Lease Finance for MAS and is known to be looking to take more for use on regional routes. It has also said it plans to lease additional Boeing 737s to support the expansion plans, more details of which are due to be released in the coming months.
Early in January, PMB said it was ordering six ultra-large Airbus A380s for the airline, for delivery from 2007.
The carrier was renationalised early in 2001 after suffering losses for years. Since then the government has put new top managers in place and has been working on a major restructuring.
Late last year MAS's debt of more than $2 billion was eliminated through a separate deal under which all its assets were purchased by a state-owned company and leased back.
MAS now operates international passenger and cargo services as a "virtual airline", and is not exposed to losses from domestic operations which are absorbed by the government.
The restructuring of the airline continues, with MAS saying that it will soon sell a 70% stake in MAS Catering to Gubahan Saujana, a company jointly owned by Malaysian firm Fahim Capital and LSG Sky Chefs.
Source: Airline Business
